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Fighting displaces 45,000 in southern Syria: UN
BEIRUT, June 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Air strikes and ground fighting in
southern Syria have forced at least 45,000 people to flee, the United Nations
said on Tuesday, the largest displacement in the area so far.
Backed by Russia, Syrian government forces have ramped up air strikes and
ground attacks on rebel positions in the south, particularly its main
province of Daraa.
“Our estimates are 45,000, maybe even higher,” said Linda Tom, spokeswoman
for the UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) in Syria.
The displacements have been happening increasingly fast in recent days as
violence has escalated, Tom said.
“Over the last couple of days we saw a very large number of people who
fled because of the ongoing hostilities, because of the shelling and fighting
in that area,” she told AFP.
The majority are fleeing from the eastern parts of Daraa province south
towards the sealed border with Jordan, which has said it cannot absorb any
more refugees.
“We haven’t seen massive displacement in this scale in Daraa,” Tom said.
The UN had previously warned that fighting was putting 750,000 people in
rebel-held areas of the south in harm’s way.
More than five million people have fled abroad since the Syrian conflict
erupted in 2011. Another six million are displaced inside the country.
BSS/AFP/RY/1645 hrs